Skellig
by Wistful-Eyes
Summary: There is a thing in Kaoru's garage. There is a baby, her parents, and her frustrated sibling in the house. There is a strange girl who lives across from them. And there are wings, waiting to fly. Angst
1. Moving & Sibling's Rivalry

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*Disclaimer: Skellig does not belong to me, but to the wonderful author, David Almond. Nor does Rurouni Kenshin; Watsuki-san has dibs on that*

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~Skellig~

.....Man, Bird, or Angel? Who or what, is Skellig?

Kaoru Kamiya and her brother, Yahiko, were looking forward to moving into a new house. It was all going to be wonderful. It _had _to be, perfect for the newest addition to the family. 

But then the baby becomes ill, and everyone is frantic. How will Kaoru and Yahiko cope with it? Their whole world is shaken, and even more because of the discovery Kaoru found in their new home's crumbling garage.

What is this thing, beneath the spiderwebs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never seen before? The only person Kaoru is able to confide in is her new friend and neighbor, Tomoe, and soon, Yahiko joins the secret. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and all three of their lives are changed forever and intertwined, along with Skellig.

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"Kaoru! Hey, Kaoru!"

She didn't answer. Her back was towards him, and her head was craned up to look at the run-down house.

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What had made her parents choose to leave their beautiful dojo and trade it for this?

"BUSU!! What are you doing? Kaasan's calling for you! She says needs help with the baby-"

Before he had finished speaking, his sister had broke from her trance and whirled down on him, baring her teeth.

"Don't call me that," she yelled. Before she could punch him, Yahiko scowled and looked at the ground.

"It's the only way to get your attention. What was I supposed to do?" 

Kaoru's fist halted, and it went to her side. She stared at him, feeling slightly guilty. She then shook it off; she hated feeling so vulnerable.

"Sorry," said Kaoru, firmly. She sighed, then stood with him, both facing the house now.

"What do you think?"

He gave an indifferent shrug. "It's all right."

She gave the house a glare. "It's hideous."

Yahiko scuffed his shoe against the ground, looking at her with an annoyed expression.

"If looks meant so much to you, why don't you look at yourself?"

"Yahi-"

"KAORU!! Kaoru-chan, where are you?"

Kaoru held her tongue, giving Yahiko a punch to the head as she stalked off to the doorway, where their mother stood. Yahiko spat after her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The baby had no name.

When their parents had announced to Yahiko and Kaoru that their Kaasan was pregnant, all Kaoru had felt was shock, excitement, then joy. She did not feel uneasy about the coming of a new sibling; it was simply against her nature. But Yahiko had gone through all the brooding, wondering how much everything would change, if he was going to be replaced. As the younger of the two, he was more babied then Kaoru, and as much as he protested against his mother's fondling, Kaoru knew that he was afraid of the baby stealing all of her affections.

"Don't worry," Kaoru had said one day, finding Yahiko working himself into a sweat in the training hall, venting his frustration. "If it was like you thought, then Kaasan wouldn't pay any attention to me at all."

"She....doesn't!" he grunted angrily, striking down with his shinai. Her eyes had opened wide then.

"You brat!" she hissed angrily, walking over to grab her shinai as well. She spun around on her bare heels, walking back to Yahiko, shinai raised and pointing at him angrily.

"I'm trying to help you-" She struck hard; Yahiko blocked. She withdrew the shinai, getting ready to strike him again. She breathed deeply, her anger flaring. "I'm...trying...to help..."

They glared at each other.

She jumped up and swung down with so much force that Yahiko's legs buckled, causing him to falter, stumbling backwards, shinai still up. 

"And you say something like that? How dare you?!"

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He has no idea...how much that hurts...

"HYAAH!!" she screamed, swinging the shinai at his side. He moved to block, but it was an awkward position and her stroke was swift. 

He wasn't wearing protective gear.

Yahiko cried out and fell over, one hand clutching his side, the other clutching the handle of his shinai. Kaoru stood over him, still angry, but through her fury she knew that what she had just done was seriously harmful. She should apologize, check how much he was going to bruise...

Instead...

"I can't believe you!" she spat, quickly putting her shinai onto the holder, than striding quickly to the exit of the hall.

"Ergh!" she heard Yahiko growl from behind her. She kept walking away, but her ears alert. She heard him get up. "Get back here!" he cried angrily. "Get back here!"

She ignored him and walked away.

~*~

That encounter had shaken her for a few days, though she did not show it at all. 

She had noticed that after training with their father and his other students, that Yahiko would lean back against the wall, and clutch his side when he thought nobody was looking. At the few times when he caught her staring at him, he glared back defiantly, showing no pain on his face, though his hand still clutched his side...he hadn't tattled on her, of course. It was like their sibling code of honor and pride. Any frustrations they had, they would keep it to each other, away from anyone else.

Only after a week and a half did Yahiko stop clutching his side.

The rational part of Kaoru was sorry and guilty for the injury she had caused to Yahiko. Her temper said otherwise.

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He deserved it, he's so ungrateful, I always look out for him and he still acts like that...

What he had said hurt her. Scarred her. Nights after that fight, she would weep in bed, because she knew it was almost true.

Yahiko had their mother, and Kaoru had their father. During kendo tournaments, both parents would be there, but it would be Kaoru's father who would come to see her especially right after a win or a loss.

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It's because he's our sensei, Kaoru argued. _So of course he would come out, it's not supposed to set standards against Kaasan-_

But why was it, whenever Yahiko had a score or a loss, that their mother would run out to him and congragulate him almost right after he stepped out of the box? And after Kaoru's fights, she would wait by the stands pleasantly, a smile on her face, waiting for Kaoru and her father to come to _her_?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

~Owari~

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

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Author's Notes:

What's the easiest way to describe this fic? ...A crossover. -_-' Though I don't like to think of it that way. It is simply the basic plot of the Skellig storyline, mixed with a few select characters of Rurouni Kenshin. In fact, this _is _turning out pretty different from the book, aside from the much found angst, and the other thing that is about to be found...

Skellig is by David Almond, very talented, if you ask me. If you like this fic at all (but you should read this a little more before deciding that, ne?), then maybe you should try borrowing this book from the library! ^_^


	2. Hearing It

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*Disclaimer: Skellig does not belong to me, but to the wonderful author, David Almond. Nor does Rurouni Kenshin; Watsuki-san has dibs on that*

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~Skellig~

2

"Here, honey," says Kaoru's mother. She hands the wriggling baby over to Kaoru. "I just need to find the formula-" 

"Where's Tou-san?" Kaoru asks, as she ajusts her hold on the baby. "Why isn't he helping?"

"Your father's outside; of course he's helping. He's scoping out the backyard again."

Kaoru frowns. That cannot be called a backyard, nor a garden. It is a wild jungle, probably full of ticks. Just like this can't be called a home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I'm sure it can be fixed," Kaoru said doubtfully, as they walked around inside the house. The paint is chipping and so is the wallpaper. 

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Optimism. That is what the family shares. 

"Of course it can," says her mother, almost gushing. She claps her hand, delighted. "Just look!"

"That's right, that's right," says the real estate agent. "Just imagine! Imagine what can be done!"

Eventually, it was the real estate agent himself that made Kaoru dislike the house. And the fact that someone had died in it.

"Just use your mind's eye," said the real estate agent, spreading his arms and leading them to the dining room. 

And then he tells them of Old Ernie Myers, who had been dead for nearly a week before they found him, underneath the kitchen table. 

Kaoru is horrified. Yahiko is disgusted. Their parents don't care, and continue to survey the house happily.

~*~

The real estate agent, whose name was Mr. Stone, led them to the backyard. It was big, they could tell. But full of weeds and junk.

"Lots of space," says Mr. Stone proudly, putting his hands together as if snapping a picture. "Once all of this gets cleaned up, plenty of room. Maybe a swimming pool!"

"No," says Kaoru's father, shaking his head. "A training hall."

"Ah, yes, of course!" cries Mr. Stone. "A grand training hall for your students."

Kaoru's father nods and Mr. Stone leads them around. They come to what used to be the garage.

"Once this is torn down or repaired, probably can fit two cars," says Mr. Stone. He pats Yahiko on the head. "Or maybe it can be a little hideout for little Yahiko here, and his friends."

Yahiko scowls deeply, twisting out of Mr. Stone's reach.

They move on, but Kaoru's mother motions to Yahiko and Kaoru.

"Don't go in there," she says, nodding her head to the garage. "Mr. Stone says that it could collapse."

"Why would we go in there anyway," Yahiko grumbles, stomping off.

Kaoru is about to call out to him, reprimanding him for being so rude to their Kaasan, but her mother stops her.

"Kaoru-chan....is anything wrong with Yahiko-chan?" she says, worriedly. Kaoru shakes her head.

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Code of honor. Keep it to ourselves.

Kaoru watches her mother still keep her worried look, patting Kaoru absently on the shoulder before wandering off to find Mr. Stone and the rest of the family, leaving Kaoru alone in the garden.

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Why doesn't she ask how I feel? Kaoru wonders. The thought makes her feel hurt, so she brushes it off.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Koshijiro Kamiya comes in, wiping his hands quickly on his trousers. By this time, the formula is already made and the baby is being fed.

He stoops over the baby, which is now being carried by Kaoru's mother, and strokes her cheek softly. The baby wriggles, then reaches up to seize his finger.

"You're getting her dirty," says Kaoru's mother, smiling. It's true. There is now a small smudge on the baby's cheek.

"Hmph," says Kaoru's father, absently. He steps back then goes to the kitchen, to wash his hands.

"Maybe we should name her Chiri," says Kaoru, musingly.

"No," says Kaoru's mother, firmly. She gives Kaoru a stern look. "Not this time."

"I was only joking," Kaoru mutters. She looks at the baby. She's staring back, sucking noisily on the bottle.

.......The baby has no name.

~*~

Kaoru can be loosely transalated as "Fragrance."

Yahiko's name can be transalated into "Bright Spirit".

The baby...still doesn't have a name.

You see, it's a ritual. The children are named after chosen incidences, involving them.

Weeks after Kaoru was born, she had knocked over a bottle of her mother's Jasmine perfume. Kaoru's mother had been carrying her at the time, and Kaoru was throwing a fit. It was morning, and her mother was trying her best to do her daily morning applications, while holding Kaoru at the same time. 

Kaoru suddenly let out a loud shriek, and Kaoru's mother, startled, knocked something over. As Kaoru's mother bent down to pick it up, Kaoru was suddenly level to the dresser's surface. Her fists and feet struck out, and she knocked over her mother's Jasmine perfume, which she had just applied, and the cap was loose.

Ultimately, baby Kaoru was splashed with perfume, now wailing much louder because of the sudden wetness. Kaoru's mother had frantically raced her to the bathroom, washing her face quickly in case the perfume got into her eyes. They hadn't. But after that, both Kaoru's parents decided to name her after the incident. Thus, Kaoru got her name.

It took quite a while before Yahiko received his name. He ate, cried, and slept, but his parents waited patiently for something memorable to happen. Finally, his chance came.

There was a small blackout in their area of town, and after comforting a wailing Kaoru, Kaoru's mother went to get Yahiko. He was gone. After getting the father, both searched around the house frantically, until they came upon Yahiko, who was fast asleep, clutching a _flashlight_ to him, of all things. Further more, when his father came to pick him up, Yahiko wailed and struck him on the head with his new found toy.

Kaoru's mother said that they named him it because of the flashlight.

Kaoru's father said they named him it because it was a fitting name for a warrior, as he most certainly was after striking him on the head with his "weapon".

Now, all four were waiting for the baby to do something. They weren't in a hurry, though. It had been almost a month since her birth. And, she was frail.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Yahiko and Kaoru had attended the same school. During third period, each had been called from their classes to the office.

"What did you do, Kaoru?" Misao whispered as Kaoru gathered her things. She smiled. "Did you get into another fight earlier?"

"No," Kaoru smiled. Misao was her best friend, and they knew each other better than anyone. "See you later, I guess."

"You bet-" Misao started, but their teacher shot her a mean glare. Misao gave Kaoru a quick wave as she stepped out of the classroom.

Kaoru didn't bother to walk quickly. She took her time wandering down the hall, wondering what was wrong. Then she saw Yahiko leave his classroom, further down the hall. She jogged up to him.

"What did you do?" she asked pointedly. "You're always getting into scuffles."

"Nothing," Yahiko scowled. "What did _you _do? Don't act like you don't fight."

They walked side by side down the corridor, Kaoru's shoes making echoing tapping noises as they walked. She wondered why both of them were being called, when it struck her.

"Yahiko," she said slowly. "They called both of us because it's a family matter."

Fear filtered into her chest. Yahiko's gaze became panicked.

"The baby," they both cried, and started to sprint to the office. Fear seeped into both of them.

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Is it the baby? It's not supposed to arrive for another week!

Maybe it's Kaasan. Maybe something's wrong.

Maybe it's not anything to do with that. What if Tousan is hurt?

What if-

What if-

Maybe-!

They burst into the office loudly, and their Tousan looked up from his chair.

~*~

The baby had been born too early. Kaasan was all right, but the baby was in trouble.

Their father had driven them to the hospital, where both family members were waiting. Both ran over to kiss their Kaasan, and then they went to see the baby. It was terrible.

The baby was in a glass case, tubes and wires everywhere. It's skin was deathly white. And it was so small...

"Oh," Yahiko had said, putting his hands on the glass, leaning forward and peering at the baby in shock. "Ungh..."

"This is terrible, " Kaoru said faintly, clutching her hands together. She approached the baby cautiously, looking down at it. It's eyes were closed, and it's chest rose ever so faintly as she breathed.

~*~

They had to wait for almost a week until the baby could come home. And then, they moved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The baby was being fed, and Kaoru was no longer needed. She had already put her belongings in her new room. It faced their street.

Kaoru went back outside. Yahiko was already gone. "Tsch," she muttered. She didn't know why; she just felt that she and Yahiko should stick together, right now...

What to do....? 

She spun slowly around, taking in her surroundings. Something caught her eye. The garage.

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Kaasan said not to go in it... "Hmph."

She started to walk towards it. There was no door. Kaoru stood at the doorway, peering in. It was filled with things, but there were cobwebs, and who knows what.

"Kaoru!"

"What?" Kaoru spun around, her arm hitting the door frame. It wobbled. "Oh-!"

Yahiko ran forward and seized her by the back of her shirt, yanking her back. "Idiot!"

They stumbled backwards, watching the garage. It stopped wobbling. A bit of dust was rising, and a piece of rotten wood dropped off to the ground.

"Don't you remember what Kaasan said?! You're an idiot!"

"It was fine until you startled me!" Kaoru snapped, feeling a bit ashamed.

"Whatever." He walked off to the house. Kaoru stared after him. Then she turned back to the garage.

Rsssspch...shrrrch....

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Something is moving in there. Kaoru stood there, frozen.

Scrrrsh.... The sound of something scraping against a concrete floor...

__

Something is scraping in there....

Schhhrrrrrrrr........... And then it fell silent.

~~~

Owari

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Author's Notes: 

Another chapter....ladidoo. ^^' I made it longer, hopefully that's a good thing?? I hope everyone can tell which things are flashbacks and which things were present. Please give me feedback if it's too hard to tell or something. 0_o'

Review Replies:

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The Weird One2: I'm glad you think its good so far. If you do get the book, you'll see my version is actually pretty different. ^^ It's interesting. The whole thing about wings...erg, spoilers. ^^'

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Saph: Ooh, no no no! Not a one-shot!! ^^' There's more! (Obviously. :P) Oh, finals...-_-' How terrible. Um, good luck!

*Chiri= Japanese for "dust, dirt"

-I got it from an unreliable online dictionary, people! ^^' It might not be a common word for dirt.


	3. The Girl In the Tree

_Disclaimer: I own nothing...woe is me! I am merely a parasite, spawning off all of the good ideas coming from other guys. -_-'_

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**_Skellig:_**__

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**_3_**

Kaoru stared down at her plate. She didn't feel hungry at all. She was thinking about the noise from the garage, but to the casual observer, she seemed to be extremely interested in the different shades of green found on her peas.

Yahiko kicked her underneath the table, and Kaoru looked up at him. Yahiko was staring at her intently. 

_What's up? _he mouthed to her. 

Kami-sama, she didn't want to deal with him right now. She stuck out her tongue quickly, then turned her attention back to her plate. She heard him let out a disgusted breath, reaching over to get more rice.

"Kaoru," said her father. Kaoru forced herself to look up at him. "Why aren't you eating?"

The family's attention all turned towards her. Dislike mounted in Kaoru, though she hid it.

"Nothing. I just don't feel hungry right now."

Koshijiro Kamiya frowned at his eldest child. "You will eat. It's been a long day, and you're not going to eat at another time. Your Kaasan cooked this all for you."

"Ko-" Kaoru's mother started, but fell silent as he shook his head. 

Kaoru did not dare let a growl of exhasperation escape her, instead, seizing her chopsticks and scooping a clump of rice into her mouth. She stared at them as she chewed. Koshijiro sighed, finding no other fault with her, and turned back to his meal, everyone else following suit.

~*~

"Kaoru?"

.......

"Busu!"

Kaoru knew Yahiko was trying to tempt her to speak. Though her temper flared at the nickname, she bit her tongue.

"Fine," Yahiko grumbled, and Kaoru heard his footsteps patter down the hall to his room.

Kaoru sighed, still flopped on her bed. 

What do I do? That noise from the garage… 

_It might not even be a person! Maybe an animal of some sort._

Kaoru sighed and stood up, going to her window. She stood to the side, at an angle where she could see part of the garage. Nothing was there.

What did I expect? 

Then some movement at the street attracted her eye, and Kaoru sunk down to the floor on her knees, peering through the window. It was a cat. Kaoru watched it for a few more moments, then was about to turn away, when another movement came. 

_What's going on?_ She thought, peering intently.

There was something in the tree across the street… It was an old court, her new neighborhood, and between the houses were trees and wild grass. It was more near to the wilderness.

Something white flashed through the thick foliage, and a second later, a girl dropped down from the tree. In the moonlight, the girl looked ghostly, like an angel. Kaoru couldn't see her too well, but she could see that the girl had long black hair tied into a loose ponytail. And she was wearing a white kimono, of all things! The girl fell to the ground in a crouch, like a predator, and she slowly stood up, holding her hands in front of her like a zombie. The girl walked past the sidewalk to the center of the street, putting one foot in front of the other as if she were on a trapeze, until she was a few feet away from the cat, which was crouched in front of her. 

Kaoru watched intently. This was one of her neighbors? 

The girl whispered something to the cat, which stared up at her, doing nothing. Then, suddenly, the girl reached forward and cuffed the cat across the head.

"Hey!" Kaoru cried out, angrily. But the sound wasn't heard through the window, and a second later, the girl whispered something more to the cat and held out her arms. The cat jumped into them, settling down, and the girl stood there for a while, head bent over the cat. Then she turned around and walked slowly back to her house, still one foot in front of the other, and disappeared inside.

~*~

The next day, Kaoru and Yahiko went to school for the first time in their new town. 

The class was noisy and wild, completely different from Kaoru's former school. Kaoru sat in her desk, trying to pay attention to the lessons, but aware of the strange looks she got as being the "new kid". During lunch, she sat alone, watching the other children wistfully, when a tall girl approached her, who had been in her first and second period.

She had a habit of flipping her hair across her shoulder, Kaoru noticed, and was even wearing lipstick. Kaoru had never really cared for such things.

"What's your name?" the girl asked, her friends behind her.

"Kamiya Kaoru."

"I see. I'm Megumi Takani," she replied airily. "When did you move here?"

"About half a week ago."

"How come?"

Kaoru didn't answer. 

"Excuse me?"

Kaoru sighed, looking at Megumi straight in the face.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to answer that question."

Megumi looked shocked for a second, then snorted, flipping her hair again.

"All right, if that's how you want it."

They walked away, but not before Kaoru caught Megumi looking back at her with an expression not quite as devious as it had been before. 

~*~

The day passed, and Kaoru hadn't caught any glance of the strange girl she had seen last night. She had been hoping to see her…

_Maybe she goes to a different school_, Kaoru wondered, as she and Yahiko were being driven back on the school bus. They walked off the bus, and Kaoru glanced back at the tree across the street. 

Behind the foliage, white cloth from a kimono was showing…

Kaoru walked off to the side, trying to get at an angle so she could see the girl better. The girl was leaning back against the trunk of the tree, sketching. The girl paused, then turned to face her.

Kaoru gulped. The girl's stare was intimidating, even though it seemed so blank…

"Kaoru!"

Kaoru blinked, turning around to see Yahiko walking up their driveway. "Hurry up!"

She wanted to yell a retort, but instead glanced back behind her. The girl was still watching her calmly. Kaoru watched her back for a few more seconds, then spun around and headed towards her house.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Author's Notes:

Ack, finally updated this. ^^' Sorry it took so long… Writer's block. Anyway, thanks a lot to the reviewers, but now I'm getting a little nervous. ^^' What if you all hate the book Skellig and you all tracked it down for nothing just because of my opinion? Heh, that'd be a riot… O_o'' 

Man, I get too many ideas. Already, I'm debating whether to do another RuroKen/Book crossover…Orororo...but that one would be considerably longer, as it's a trilogy. No, not Lord of the Rings. ^^' Eesh, well now that I've introduced another character, maybe I'll be able to go quicker, hopefully. Well, cyz!


	4. The Dead Thing Speaks

_Disclaimer: I own nothing...woe is me! I am merely a parasite, spawning off all of the good ideas coming from other guys. -_-'_

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**_Skellig:_**__

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**_4_**

Whack! Whack! 

Kaoru usually loved the sun.

Whack! Whack! 

Now she wished that it would just hide behind some clouds for a while…

Whack! 

Kaoru, Yahiko, and her father were out in the backyard, trying to turn it into a garden. A few hours ago they had managed to remove all of the junk from the garden, and now they were starting at the weeds, some almost as tall as Yahiko.

Whack! 

The mighty plant fell and Kaoru stabbed at it and the ground ruthlessly, mutilating the roots, which were hiding down there somewhere.

The flurry of leaves and dirt fell away to show Yahiko looking at her with a weird expression.

"It's just a plant, Kaoru."

"Mou!" she steamed. "Well, all these stupid _plants _are blocking the way!"

A yard away from Yahiko, their father was just finishing up, and Kaoru's father grunted as he seized the thorny weed and yanked it up from the caked earth. He threw it to the pile of removed weeds, then turned to his frustrated daughter.

"Kaoru, take a break, if you're going to be of no help."

Kaoru was hurt from the statement, but took it as a challenge, and grimly hacked away at more of the growth with out complaint. To show him, she didn't even go inside with the rest of them when Kaoru's mother had called out that she had some cool drinks for them. So, Kaoru was alone, battling with the garden when a cool voice called out to her, "Difficult, isn't it?"

Kaoru was surprised, and her training kicked in as she spun around quickly, holding her tool as if it were a bokken. She was greeted with a pair of calm black eyes; a girl was peering over the fence, head and arms in view. Kaoru could see that the girl was standing on something in order to see over, and Kaoru blinked in recognition, for this girl was the same one she had seen a few days before.

"Who are you?" Kaoru asked, not knowing whether to be polite or rude; didn't this girl know that you weren't supposed to spy on your neighbors?

"Yukishiro Tomoe," she answered politely. She paused, as if waiting for Kaoru to do something. They eyed each other for a while, then Kaoru suddenly realized the proper response.

"I'm Kaoru Kamiya," she said quickly. Introductions made, Kaoru searched for a topic. "You live down the street, right?"

"Hai."

More silence.

Kaoru was naturally a talkative person, so the silence was too much for her. She decided to ask a question that had been on her mind ever since she had spotted Tomoe over the fence.

"Forgive me, I wasn't spying on you or anything, but a few nights ago I saw you outside, and you hit your cat." 

Tomoe looked vaguely surprised.

Kaoru became stern. "Why did you do that?"

To her surprise, Tomoe nodded approvingly and said, "You care about animals. That's nice of you." She waited for a second, then continued. "I was punishing my cat because she was trying to eat the owlets."

"Owlets!" Kaoru exclaimed. "Baby owls?"

"Hai."

She didn't offer any more explanations, and Kaoru let the topic drop reluctantly. She was about to open her mouth to invite her in, when Tomoe suddenly nodded to her in a good bye sort of manner, and jumped down from whatever she had been standing on, the flurry of hair vanishing after her.

"Good bye, Kaoru," she called over the fence.

"Good bye," Kaoru said uneasily, and she heard the pitter patter of Tomoe's shoes as she ran off.

~*~

Flashlight? Check.

Bokken? Check again.

Kaoru gripped both items hard, staring at the garage defiantly, trying to conceal her fear. The sun was still in view, thank god, even though it was past dinner. It would've been a lot worse if she only had time to do this during nightfall…

She had no idea what was inside the garage. In fact, if she was lucky, there would be nothing at all. But the back of Kaoru's neck was prickling, and she stiffened as she took a few steps forward and pushed the door open loudly. The first thing to frighten her was the spider that dropped down from the handle, and Kaoru swallowed her scream and smashed the disgusting thing with the end of her bokken. 

_First obstacle gone_, Kaoru thought grimly, and she took a breath, then walked in.

She quickly switched the flashlight on, and she stood still, waving the beam of light all around her, surveying the cobwebs and clusters of various items. It was disgusting, but there was no living thing in sight. But that terribly eerie feeling that if you turned around, you'd see something ghastly behind you, didn't leave her, and Kaoru suddenly wished Yahiko were with her. And at that worst possible moment when her fear was at its peak, the sound of something dragging across the cement floor came about. 

Rsssch…rssch…rsch- 

"HYAAAAH!!!" Kaoru screamed, not caring any more if her parents found out that she was in here. All she knew was that she _had_ to get rid of that sound, that she _had_ to vanquish whatever foe lurked in _her_ garage. Bokken held up offensively, she darted forward around a tall pile of boxes where whatever was making that noise could be hiding, and there, the scream lodged in her throat and died.

The first thought that came to her mind was that there was a dead man propped up against the wall.

The second thought never came, because her blood froze as the so-called dead man turned his head towards her.

He was the most disgusting, horrendous thing she had ever witnessed.

His body and clothes were covered in dust and cobwebs. Where his skin showed, it looked black and wrinkly and _ancient_, with the texture of a crumple up piece of paper.

His face was what held her. As she had swung around into this clearing, the beam of her flashlight went right past his face, and as she trembled, it hit his cheek and his huge eyes blinked hard, watering as the light that had never reached him for _so_ long hit his face. 

Oh, Kaoru hadn't known it until the thing's mouth opened, but she was thankful that the rest of his face was covered by his hair and cobwebs. But then his mouth opened to speak, his head tilting, and the hair fell away to reveal more of himself, and Kaoru was crying in helplessness because the mere sight of him had frozen her. 

"What are you doing here?" he rasped, and when he coughed dust rose from his lips. The coughing spasm shook his whole body, and the way he moved showed that he hadn't done so in a long time. His voice shook Kaoru out of some of her fear; he was seeming more human. "What are you doing here?" 

Kaoru shook her head in an answer, praying that her father would come and find her so that she would be released from this monster's spell, so she could spring back to life and use the bokken in the Kamiya Kasshin, to show this thing that she would not be beaten. But she merely shook her head wildly, wanting to tear her eyes from him, but not daring to.

"Get away, child," the thing said. "Leave me in peace." And then his head lowered and he became a dead man once more, and Kaoru's heart was released from it's vice like grip and she sprang away out of the garage to the house where the people were alive and warm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Ha! Done with another chapter….Gosh, you have no idea how much I freaked myself out writing this chapter. It's almost 6 PM, the door is closed, the lights in my room are turned off, and it's dark. When I started writing about the eerie feelings Kaoru was having, I started having them myself. X_X'' Eeep!

To clear some things up, the thing in the garage isn't really dead. ^^' But can you imagine going into a dark cluttered garage, seeing this guy shrouded in dust and cobwebs, propped up with his back against the wall?? It sure looks like he's dead! So since I'm writing sorta from Kaoru's POV, it seemed she was conversing with a dead man (zombie!!) and so when she left the garage she wanted to back to her house where her family was, I described it "where the people were alive and warm". When I imagine the guy propped up against the wall, it was dark, you know, so his skin is black looking and etc. But if you compare it to her family inside…where it's all lighted, and they're all active and moving around and their skin actually looks flesh colored… I can't really explain it. @_@'' Well, anyway, that's all. 

**dreammaster2411:** Kenshin…hrm…well, really, the true Kenshin won't be showing up anytime soon…but the role I picked out for him alters him so much he can't even really be called Kenshin. @_@' Do I confuse you? I confuse myself. Well, I promise in the next couple chapters more will be revealed about the character I'm trying to turn into Kenshin.

**Pen D. Fox:** Hello! ^_^' Well, actually, you might not find Skellig in a Jr. High library (it's actually a pretty short book), even though I found it in the Young Adults section at the public library. Well, hope you enjoy this chappy. ^^'

**MissBehavin:** The girl and the cat are revealed! Sorta. ^^' Megumi…actually, I'm not sure if she'll be showing up a lot…in Skellig, the main character (it was actually a boy) had conflicts with children at school because they thought that his neighbor was strange (hint hint). So instead of making up girls, I decided to use Megumi. I don't really want to turn her into a bad snooty girl, so maybe later on I'll try to justify her.

Well, that's all! As always, please review. It makes me so happy to know someone's enjoying this. ^^


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